Nestled away in one of Lukang’s many backstreets is one of the last traditional steamed bun basket weavers left in Taiwan. The baskets are made from Cypress and Bamboo wood and are all hand made using manual tools. Most baskets are now imported from China but are stuck together with glue and dont last very long. It seems that restaurant in Lukang had one of Chen Chin-huang’s baskets, with its distinctive hand stitched seam.

Mr Chen works in a small room with strips of wood taking every available space, apart from his small shrine at the back of the workshop. This is where I arranged to meet him after his midday rest. Whilst photographing Mr Chen, he kept his head down and made very little eye contact with me as he worked to finish one of his baskets. My friend spoke to him about his story and Mr Chens wife was also happy to talk to us.

Once I’d finished shooting him working I asked if he could sit sidewards on his chair for a portrait.This it seemed was a straw that broke the camels back.At first he refused but his wife was telling him to as it was only for one photo. I told him it didn’t matter, but a few minutes later he swivelled on his seat to face me, head down. I took one photo and said ‘Hao, xie xie ni’. He turned back to work and started to complain about some tourists that come to take his photo. He said that once 100 chinese tourists came to photograph him and were very rude.One even tried to steal some of his bags. I could understand what he was talking about, his workshop faces onto the street and he is well know in Lukang, so most visitors will try to find him and watch him do his work and there is a constant stream of people hovering at his door. This is why it is best to make an appointment when visiting famous traditional craftsmen.